Luther l



(No Model.) I

L. L. PRIERSON & J. BARKER. PACKING AND REPEIGERATING VESSEL.

No. 431,942. Patented July 8, 1890.

f o" i: r I

F ---ae UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE.

LUTHER L. FRIERSON, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, AND JACOB BARKER, OF COLUMBIA, TENNESSEE.

PACKING AND REFRIGERATING VESSEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 431,942, dated July 8, 1890.

Application filed January 30, 1890. Serial No. 838,681. (No model.)

' and {JACOB BARKER, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Mount Pleasant and Columbia, in the county of Maury and State of Tennessee, have invented new and useful Improvements in Packing and Refrigerating Vessels, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a novel packing and refrigerating vessel for safely transporting perishable substances, such as poultry, milk, and other food products.

To accomplish this object our invention involves the features of construction, the combination or arrangement of devices, and the principles of operation hereinafter described.

indetail, and specificallysetforthin the claims, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is avertical central sectional view of our improved packing-refrigerator. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the closed containing vessel for holding the articles or material to be preserved and transported. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing a modification, and Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a staple and stop, hereinafter explained.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will 110w describe the same in detail, referring to the drawings, wherein The numeral 1 indicates what we will term an envelope, which may be of any desired shape in cross-scction-such as polygonal-- butispreferably circular,an din general con figuration the same as an ordinary barrel. This envelope is lined internally, as at 2, with any material that is water-proof and a non-conductor of heat, and the envelope is provided with a tight cover or lid 3, detachably secured in position by suitable fastening devices 4, such, for example, as are exhibited in Letters Patent No. 410,481, issued September 3, 1889. An inner casing 5 is inserted within the envelope and is also lined upon its surfaces with awater-proof and non-conducting substance. The inner casing at its lower end portion is provided with a lateral outwardlyprojecting annular or surrounding flange 6,

resting against the inner side of the envelope and located a short distance above the bottom wall thereof, said flange being provided with a series of air orifices or recesses 7. The upper end portion of the inner casing is bent laterally in an outward direction, as at 8, and thence projects vertically, as at 9, with the extreme top edge preferably wired, as at 10, and terminating a short distance below the cover or lid of the envelope. The arrangement of the inner casing relatively to the envelope is such as to provide a continuous ascending air-flue 12 between the envelope and casing and entirely around the same. The bottom wall of the envelope is provided with wa ter-esoape orifices closed by removable stoppers or plugs 13, one or more, and said bottom wall supports the feet or legs 14: of a skeleton or foraminous platform or diaphragm 15, that supports the bottom wall of the containingvessel1 6, which serves to receive and hold the poultry, milk, or other food products to be refrigerated, preserved, and transported. The space 17 between the platform or diaphragm 15 is an air-circulating and water space in free communication with the ascending airline 12 through the orifices or recesses 7 in the flange 6 of the casing 5, and said air-circulating and water space is also in free communication with the lower end of a descending or diving or cold-air flue 18, extending between and, as here shown, formed by the containingvessel 16 and the casing 5. The containingvessel is provided with an inclined breast 19, having a vertical neck 20, receiving the tight cover 21, and the upper portion of the wall of the containing-vessel, where it joins the inclined breast, is provided with an annular or surrounding horizontal flange 22, extending outwardly and resting against the inner casing 5 below its outwardly-bent portion 8. This flange 22 is provided with recesses or orifices 23 in its edges, as shown in Fig. 2, to form air-passages; but instead of the flange being recessed at its edge it may be perforated, as shown in Fig. 3, to form the air passages or orifices 23. The lower end of the containingvessel is also provided with ahorizontal flange 24., having air passages or orifices, and similar in all respects to the flange 22, and in corn junction with thelatter serving to steady and brace the containing-vessel within the internal casing.

The inclined breast of the containing-vessel and the outwardly-bent and vertical portions 8 and 9 of the casing constitute an annular trough, of which the extreme bottom is the flange 22, and this trough and the space above serve to receive and hold the ice for refrigerating purposes. The ice-water trickles through the orifices in the flange 22 and flows down the outer surface of the containing-vessel to the space beneath the platform or diaphragm 15, from whence it may be discharged, as occasion requires, by withdrawing one or more of the stoppers or plugs 13. The platform or diaphragm 15 being of skeleton or foraminous construction, the cold water and the circulating air can come in contact with the bottom wall of the containing-vessel. The warmest air, which is at the lowermost portion of the envelope and containing-vessel, will rise in the ascendingflue 12, pass over the top edge. of the inner casing 5, down through the ice, and thence flow down the descending or diving flue 18, and some of this air will circulateben eath the skeleton platform or diaphragm, all as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, thereby providing an automatic and continuous circulation of cold air around the exterior of the containing vessel without, however, any of the air gaining access to the interior of the latter,which is very important for the purposes of our invention in that it is desirable to preserve the contents of the containing-vessel from contact with themoistureladen air. If desired, the inner casing 5 may be provided with air-openings, as at 25, directly above the flange 6; but this is not indispensable. The flanges on the containingvessel-are disconnected from the inner casing, so that said vessel can be readily removed and replaced, and the inner casing and its supporting platform or diaphragm are detachable from the envelope, whereby the several parts can be removed, cleaned, and replaced with ease and facility. The inner casing can be supported at its top wired edge by staples 26, such as shown in Fig. 4:, and each of these staples may be provided with a stopblock, as at 27, placed between the limbs of the staple and serving to prevent the latter from being driven too far into the envelope. The sides of the stop-block are provided with grooves to receive the staple-limbs, so that the block is thereby held in proper position.

The invention provides a simple, economical, and efficient refrigerator for transporting perishable articles, and is especially useful for carrying milk.

WVe have described the recessed or perforated flanges 22 as attached to the containing-vessel; but obviously they can be attached to the inside of the internal casing.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim is- 1. A packing-refrigerator consisting of an envelope, an inner casing arranged relatively to the envelope to form between the two a continuous ascending air-flue, a closed containing-vessel arranged in relation to the inner casing to form a continuous descending air-flue and having no communication with either flue, an ice-chamber above the containing-vessel, and an air-circulating and water space located beneath the containing-vessel and in free communication with the lower ends of the ascending and descending air fines, substantially as described.

2. A packing-refrigerator consisting of an envelope, an inner casing arranged relatively to the envelope to form between the two a continuous ascending air-flue, a closed containing-vesselarranged in relation to the illner casing to form a continuous descending air-flue and having no communication with either flue, an ice-chamber in the top portion of the envelope, an elevated skeleton or foraminous platform supporting the containingvessel, and an air-circulating and water space located beneath the platform and in free communication with the lower ends of the ascending and descending air-fines, substantially as described.

'3. A packing-refrigerator consisting of an envelope, an inner casing provided at its lower end with a perforated lateral flange resting against the envelope, said casing arranged relatively to the latter to form an ascending airflue, a containing-vessel having upper and lower lateral perforated flangesresting against the inner casing, said vessel arranged relatively to the latter to form a descending airflue, an ice-chamber in the top portion of the envelope, an elevated platform which supports the containing-vessel, and an air-circulating and water space located beneath the platform and in free communication with the lower endsof the ascending and descending air-flues, substantially as described.

at. A packing-refrigerator consisting of an envelope,'the inner casing having its upper portion bent outwardly and thence extending vertically and at its lower end provided with a perforated lateral flange resting against the envelope, the containing-vessel having an inclined breast and provided with upper and lower perforated flanges extending laterally and resting against the inner casing, a support beneath the containing-vessel for supporting the latter, and an air-circulating and water space under the said support, substantially as described.

5. A packing-refrigerator consisting of the envelope, the inner casing arranged relatively to the envelope to form the intervening ascending air-flue, the removable closed containing-vessel having an inclined breast and provided with upper and lower perforated flanges extending laterally to and bearing against the inner casing, said vessel arranged relatively to the latter to form the descending air-flue and having no communication with either flue, and a platform supporting the containing-vessel and having feet or legs to elevate it above the bottom of the envelope and form an air-circulating and water space which is in free communication with the lower ends of the ascending and descending fines, substantially as described.

6. A packing-refrigerator consisting of the envelope, the inner casing provided with a lateral perforated flange at its lower end and having its upper end portion bent outwardly and thence extended vertically, a closed containing-vessel having an inclined breast and a lateral perforated flange at the base of the breast which extends to and bears against the inner casingbelow its outwardly-bent portion, an ascending air-flue between the envelope 

